Iranian security forces briefly detain Mahsa Amini’s father

Sept 16 (Reuters) – Mahsa Amini’s father was briefly detained on Saturday, rights groups said, amid a heavy security force presence on the first anniversary of his daughter’s death in Iranian police custody. which sparked months of anti-government protests.

Amjad Amini was warned not to celebrate the anniversary of his daughter’s death before being released, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network said. Iran’s official IRNA news agency denied that Amjad Amini had been arrested, but did not say whether he was briefly detained or warned.

Previously, social media and reports from human rights groups spoke of security forces taking up positions around Amini’s home in Saqez, western Iran.

The death of a 22-year-old Kurdish woman in morality police custody last year for allegedly violating the Islamic Republic’s mandatory dress code sparked months of protests that represented the largest show of opposition to authorities in years.

Many called for an end to more than four decades of Shiite clerical rule.

According to social media posts, Amini’s parents had said in a statement earlier this week that, despite government warnings, they would hold a “traditional and religious anniversary ceremony” at their 22-year-old daughter’s grave. in Saqez.

A massive presence of security forces was deployed in Iran’s majority Kurdish areas on Saturday in anticipation of unrest, according to human rights groups.

Widespread attacks were also reported in several cities in the Iranian Kurdistan Region.

However, IRNA said Amini’s hometown of Saqez was “completely quiet” and that calls for an attack on Kurdish areas had failed due to “people’s vigilance and the presence of military and security forces.” .

It quoted an official from Kurdistan Province as saying: “Several agents affiliated with counter-revolutionary groups who had planned to create chaos and prepare material for the media were arrested in the early hours of this morning.”

In the protests that followed Amini’s death, more than 500 people, including 71 minors, were killed, hundreds were injured and thousands were arrested, human rights groups said. Iran carried out seven executions related to the unrest.

In a report last month, Amnesty International said Iranian authorities “have been subjecting victims’ families to arbitrary arrest and detention, imposing cruel restrictions on peaceful gatherings at gravesites, and destroying victims’ tombstones.”

Many journalists, lawyers, activists, students, academics, artists, public figures and members of ethnic minorities accused of having links to the wave of protests, as well as relatives of protesters killed in the unrest, have been arrested, summoned, threatened or fired from their jobs. in recent weeks, according to Iranian and Western human rights groups.

Iranian newspaper Etemad reported in August that Amini’s family lawyer also faced charges of “propaganda against the system.” If he is convicted, Saleh Nikbakht faces a prison sentence of between one and three years.

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